


Common Ground

by moirasrosesroses



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Husbands, M/M, Post-Canon, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27961856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moirasrosesroses/pseuds/moirasrosesroses
Summary: Ronnie heads to Rose Apothecary looking for relief from the flu, but David's kind gesture suddenly falls to Patrick.(See notes for a better summary. I'm sorry I'm so terrible at this)
Relationships: Patrick Brewer & Ronnie, Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 18
Kudos: 117
Collections: Schitt's Creek Season 7





	Common Ground

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SCSeason7](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCSeason7) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> 705: Ronnie is sick and between girlfriends, so when she drags herself into the store for their flu soak bath salts, David volunteers to drop by and bring her some food and meds after work. Of course, when the moment comes, David is stuck in the backroom on a three-way FaceTime call with Alexis and Moira, who are both shouting, so David begs Patrick in a whisper to take over the basket David put together. It goes about as well as expected, probably, but maybe it is unexpectedly sweet? Maybe Patrick and Ronnie discover some common ground and in her vulnerable state she finds his caretaking more helpful than annoying?

Ronnie dragged her feet up the few steps to the doors of Rose Apothecary. She felt like a member of the walking dead, barely able to stand straight, but she needed something to feel better and there was no one else in her life to help her. And, so, she had put on her cargo pants, tossed on a sweatshirt, and headed to the only store she could think of in Schitt’s Creek that might have something to help her. 

“Ronnie,” David said in a loud voice, a smile on his face. He had hoped that if he said her name loudly enough, Patrick would hear him in the storeroom and he could prepare himself to see her. 

“You look like you might need some help?” David offered, walking over to her. 

Ronnie bleakly shook her head and glanced around the room. “I think I have the flu,” she managed in a rough voice. 

David’s eyes grew wide and he took a distinct step back. “That time of year,” he cleared his throat. “So, what can I help you with?”

“David, I don’t know if you mean to do this, but-” Patrick came from behind the curtain of the storeroom and stopped in his tracks. “Oh, hi, Ronnie,” he said slowly, trying to place why she looked a little different than usual. “You look…” he stopped himself. 

“What do I look like?” Ronnie insisted harshly. 

Patrick paused. “Good,” he managed in a small voice. “You- you look good.” Patrick glanced helplessly at David, but David’s amused expression was all he needed to see to know that he wouldn’t be getting an assist. 

“Yeah,” Ronnie rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to David. “I remember one time buying a sample of bath salts and one of them was meant to help alleviate flu symptoms. Do you still sell that?”

David nodded. “Mmm. Yes, but…” he paused with an apologetic grimace. “The thing is, we haven’t transitioned from our fall to winter products yet and they are somewhere in the storeroom.” 

Ronnie’s face immediately fell. She had been so close to relief and yet she had dragged herself out of bed for nothing. 

Seeing her look of disappointment, David immediately offered, “Why don’t you go home and I’ll pull the bath salts for you and maybe some other products and I can bring them over maybe around noon?” 

Ronnie let out a sigh of relief and thanked David for his generosity. “You’re a good person,” she said. “How’d you end up with this one?” she pointed to Patrick with a smirk. 

Even sick, Patrick couldn’t get away from her biting tongue. 

“See you later, Ronnie,” David said, ushering her out the door. 

A distinct scowl clouded Patrick’s face. “Don’t worry,” David said sweetly. “You don’t have to come with me to drop it off.”

* * *

David had spent a good portion of their morning assembling a care package for Ronnie. He had found the bath salts buried behind some boxes in the storeroom and brought out two large containers, placing them carefully in a basket. 

“I don’t know why you’re doing all this for her,” Patrick said. 

“Because she’s on the city council and she’s the only handy-woman I know. Plus, I like her ‘no nonsense’ vibe,” he shrugged, adding in a small jar of marmalade and another of strawberry jam. 

Patrick frowned as he watched David add more and more items to this basket. All she had wanted was the bath salts, why was he going so far out of his way to add in all of these extras? And who was paying for this?

He pulled out his phone to check the time and was about to tell David that he should be getting ready to leave, when David’s phone rang. 

“Alexis is calling me?” David looked at his phone quizzically. “Alexis,” he answered. 

Patrick had no idea what was going on, but he could hear a frantic Alexis on the other line. 

“No, you don’t have to do that!” David practically shouted and audibly groaned. Squeezing his eyes shut and trying to regain his patience, he breathed deeply. “Hi, Mom.” 

Patrick couldn’t help but sigh. He didn’t have to know what this was about because whatever it was wouldn’t be resolved any time soon. 

“Mm-hmm,” David nodded into his phone a few times. Checking the time again, he caught Patrick’s eye. He covered the microphone with his hand and whispered, “I know you don’t want to, but could you please drop this off?” 

“David!” Patrick hissed. “No! You said you would.”

“David?” a muffled Moira said on the phone. “David! Your peculiar absence is being noted in my favor.”

“One second!” he said into the phone, clearly exasperated. “You just have to drop it off,” he promised Patrick. “Barely any face time.”

Patrick scoffed bitterly. “You owe me.” With that, he picked up the basket, grumbling under his breath that he hadn’t even wanted to do this in the first place. 

* * *

Patrick took a deep breath before knocking on Ronnie’s door. Maybe if he knocked, she wouldn’t hear him and then he could just leave the basket out front and David could call her and tell her that-

“Where’s David?” Ronnie asked as she opened the door. She was wrapped in a fuzzy blue robe and holding a mug of what looked like tea. 

“He got caught up in something and sent me,” Patrick smiled. He held out the basket hoping she would take it and he could leave. 

“Come in,” she said reluctantly. 

Patrick hung his head and walked inside. 

“Just set it over there,” Ronnie pointed to a spot on the kitchen island. He glanced around her kitchen realizing he had never been inside her house before. He spotted a number of mugs and bowls sitting in the sink waiting to be cleaned and a dirty pot on the stove with an unopened can of chicken soup next to it. 

It suddenly dawned on him that she didn’t have anyone to do the dishes or make her food while she was sick. 

“Do you want me to put this stuff away for you?” Patrick asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

Ronnie eyed him suspiciously. “What’s in it for you?”

“I can be a good person too,” Patrick managed through gritted teeth, even though he wanted to say, “Fine, do it yourself.” 

Pulling out the items in the basket, he asked where she wanted its various contents. The ginger tea went in the upper right cupboard by the sink, the marmalade and strawberry jam could go in the pantry along with the crackers David had tucked in there. He set a jar of eucalyptus lotion on the counter and the two jars of bath salts next to it. “You want me to put these in the bathroom?” he asked, trying his best to prove to Ronnie that he was a good person. 

“Down the hall, second door on the right,” she answered. 

He walked down the hallway trying his best not to appear like he was snooping. Finding the bathroom fairly easily, he set the jars on the vanity and wondered how much longer he would be there or if David had even noticed that he had been gone for far longer than he had intended.

“‘Barely any face time’,” he groaned to himself and exited the bathroom. 

Walking into the kitchen, he saw Ronnie trying to wash the pot that had been on the stove, but from Patrick’s perspective, it looked as if she could barely stand. All he wanted to do was leave, but she looked so pathetic, he couldn’t in good conscience leave her alone.

“Ronnie, why don’t you let me do that?” he asked, gently pushing her out of the way. “I can wash this and warm the soup up for you,” he offered. 

“I might be sick, but I haven’t lost all of my senses,” she protested.

Patrick swallowed a sassy, “If you had any sense, you wouldn’t dislike me so much,” but instead said, “I didn’t say you  _ couldn’t _ do it, just that I’m offering to do it for you.”

She let out an annoyed sigh, but wordlessly moved aside. 

“I’ll do this,” he repeated. “You go lay down somewhere.” He shooed her away before she could protest any further and made quick work of washing the pot.

While he waited for the soup to heat up on the stove, he washed the remaining dishes that had stacked up in her sink. He felt a sense of satisfaction at the fact that he was being the bigger person in this situation. 

After ladling the chicken soup into a bowl and filling a glass with water, he brought her lunch into the living room where a Maple Leafs game was playing. Ronnie sat up from the couch and gave him a suspicious look once again. 

“I didn’t know you liked hockey,” Patrick tried to make conversation. “Is this a replay?” he asked, checking the time.

“I missed the game last night so I’m watching it now,” she explained. “Do  _ not _ spoil this for me.” 

“I didn’t see it either,” he replied, trying his best not to feel so defensive around her. “David isn’t exactly all that interested in it,” he chuckled, forgetting briefly who he was talking to. 

Ronnie just shook her head and continued to watch the game. 

He remained standing next to the couch, arms crossed in front of him, and lost track of time as he watched the Maple Leafs struggle through the first period. 

“Yes!” he exclaimed loudly as they finally scored in the last two minutes. 

Ronnie furrowed her brow and glanced at Patrick, surprised he was still standing there. “You might as well sit down,” she offered as if it were an imposition. “You’re bothering me standing there like that.”

Without taking his eyes off the screen, he took a seat at the end of the couch. As the buzzer blared marking the end of the first period, Patrick let out a breath that he hadn’t even realized he had been holding. 

He jumped as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and saw David’s picture flash on his screen. “Hey, David,” Patrick said sheepishly, realizing he had left David to fend for himself at the store. 

“Did Ronnie take you hostage or something? Where are you?” David asked into the phone. 

“Oh,” Patrick stammered. “I lost track of time…” Patrick trailed off, losing his attention in the game again. 

“Oh, my god,” David said, somewhat annoyed that Patrick had left him at the store alone for nearly an hour when it was supposed to be a 15 minute task. “I thought maybe I had to come and free you,” he continued. 

“I’ll be leaving soon,” Patrick promised, barely blinking as the Maple Leafs came close to another goal. 

Ronnie let out a loud groan next to him as the goalie blocked the puck. 

“What the fuck is happening?” David asked. 

“Oh, just- just Ronnie needed some help,” Patrick said, not wanting to admit that he had left David alone because he was watching a hockey game. 

“Give me that,” Ronnie said, holding her hand out. Her tone suggested she would not take no for an answer. 

Patrick obediently handed the phone over to Ronnie who put it on speaker. “David, he’s here watching a hockey game with me,” Ronnie smiled mischievously. 

“Ronnie,” Patrick hissed. 

Silence greeted them on the other end. “What?” David finally asked. Patrick could hear the bafflement in his voice. 

“I’ll be back soon, David,” Patrick promised, swiping the phone from Ronnie’s hands. 

“Okay, but what does ‘soon’ mean?” David asked. 

“Um,” he glanced at Ronnie who was still laughing at tattling on him. 

“Oh, my god,” David grumbled into the phone. He sighed loudly. “As long as you’re not being held against your will.”

“Nope,” Patrick said quickly. “Okay, bye! See you soon!” and hung up.

He turned to Ronnie who was still smirking at him. “I made you soup,” he reminded her bitterly. 

“I built you a bathroom,” she shot back. 

“We paid you for that!” Patrick defended, rising from the couch.

“Okay, okay,” Ronnie laughed, still clearly amused by the situation. “You’re right, you should go,” she said. “Thanks for the basket. I’ll come by the store and pay for it when I’m feeling better,” she promised. 

That was one load off of Patrick’s mind. “Yeah, okay,” he said awkwardly. 

“And thank you for doing the dishes and making the soup,” she said. Was Patrick going crazy or was that a sincere thank you?

“You’re welcome,” he managed. 

Walking back to the store, he wondered if David would even believe him if he told him that Ronnie actually thanked him for his help. 

“I’m so glad you had so much fun with your new best friend,” David said sarcastically as Patrick took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack in the storeroom. 

“She just needed some help with stuff,” Patrick shrugged. “Didn’t mean to leave you here alone though,” he said apologetically. 

“I didn’t realize hockey was a two person job,” he teased. “I’m more impressed that you willingly spent an hour and half with Ronnie,” David smirked. 

Patrick scoffed. “Me too.”

As he set to work helping David place labels on the jars of body milk, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket again. 

[Ronnie] Leafs won 3-1

Patrick’s mouth twitched into a small smile, pleased with himself at the tentative peace he and Ronnie now shared.


End file.
